The Twelve Days of Vegan Cookies: Days 3 & 4: Easy Chewy Vegan Molasses Cookies and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
My work week was super busy, so I made two very easy recipes Wednesday and today for days 3 and 4. In the kitchen, I move slowly. I enjoy baking and don’t rush, cleaning as I go. Both of these recipes took about fifteen minutes to prepare (not including baking time), so there’s really no excuse NOT to makes them. (Except maybe diabetes.)
Easy Chewy Vegan Molasses Cookies from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken
I didn’t know if I’d like these, but I had molasses in the pantry. (I can’t even remember why I bought it–it was unopened.) It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken is a great resource for newer vegans (and lazy vegans like me). When they say a recipe is easy, it really is. This one is no exception. One bowl, fifteen minutes, and you’re ready to bake cookies that taste like they took two hours. The texture is perfect–a little crispy outside and chewy inside–and the flavor is complex. I love ginger, but if you don’t, you should reduce or omit it. It’s very distinct in this recipe. (I often eyeball measurements, but for these posts I have been measuring exactly.) “Fancy” molasses are called for, but my molasses were not fancy. For the vegan butter, I used Earth Balance Original (there are like ten kinds now!).
Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Nora Cooks
First of all, about a third of the new recipes I try are from Nora. She knows what I like. Quickbreads are a staple in my house, and the zucchini bread and banana bread I bake most often are her recipes. My other go-to vegan recipe sites include The Simple Veganista, Minimalist Baker, and Isa Chandra’s The Post Punk Kitchen. A coworker recently introduced me to Rabbit and Wolves, and I am OBSESSED. (Make the Sticky Lemon Tofu and thank me later.)
Back to the cookies. Like the molasses cookies, these are incredibly easy to make. Also just one bowl and fifteen minutes! I substituted one serving (one tablespoon) Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer for the ground flax. For the non-dairy milk I used Minor Figures Oat Milk, which I get with my produce delivery from Misfits Market (get 25% off here) as an add-on for $2.19. I would normally use melted coconut oil, but I was out, so I used regular old supermarket brand canola oil. Nora suggests you use a sifter or a fine mesh strainer because cocoa powder has a tendency to clump. This was a good call on her part. The most challenging task is putting together the balls of dough before rolling them in the powdered sugar. I kept getting a lot of dough stuck to my hands, so I started rinsing them between every 3 or 4 cookies. Problem solved. The recipe says they will look underdone when they come out of the oven, and they will. Do not cook them longer. Let them set for 15 minutes or so. That underdone-seemingness is why they end up so soft and delicious.
They come out looking very pretty, encrusted with powdered sugar. The flavor is chocolatey and just the right amount of sweet. The texture is light. So light that I ate five before I realized I had spoiled my dinner.